Big Cat Safari
by EGB Fan
Summary: The Rangers are visiting a new safari park before it opens to the public, to make sure that the animals are being treated well. They find that one animal in particular has a big problem.
1. Chapter 1

_Chip and Dale__'__s Rescue Rangers: _**Big Cat Safari**

Part 1

'Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!'

Dale, sporting an outsized safari hat and a miniature pair of binoculars (crafted from small pill bottles and an old pair of contact lenses), jumped down from his seat in the Ranger Plane almost before Chip had landed it.

'Finally!' he said, skidding to a halt and lifting his binoculars to his eyes. 'Let's get started! I wanna see the pygmy hippos!'

Chip, Gadget, Monterey Jack and Zipper all alighted from the Ranger Plane at a more sedate pace, and went to join their overeager companion.

'What do you want to see the pygmy hippos for?' asked Chip. 'They're just like regular hippos only not as big.'

'Exactly!' said Dale. 'They're really neat!'

'We're not here on vacation, Dale. A new safari park could mean all _kinds_ of problems for the animals involved. We're here to make sure everything checks out and nobody's being mistreated.'

'You're just being jealous 'cos you don't have a hat.'

'But I _do_ have a hat!'

'I meant a safari hat, dummy!'

'If you really want to go on safari, Dale,' Monterey Jack cut in, 'you should try the real thing. We'll have to take you to Africa sometime. A park like this is no substitute, when you get right down to it.'

'Maybe not,' said Gadget, 'but at least it's closer to home, and the animals are housed and fed, which makes them an awful lot safer for us.'

'Yeah, and there's Asian animals here too,' said Dale. 'We can't see _those_ in Africa.'

'That's just what I mean,' said Monty. 'This isn't natural. Seeing a lion or a tiger in a safari park is like eating non-dairy cheese. It's just not the real thing.'

'Gadget's right, though,' said Chip. 'We're a lot safer here than we would be in the middle of the African plains.'

'Aww, phooey,' said Dale. 'Lions and tigers hunt deer and stuff. They're not interested in small fry like us. AAAAH!'

Everyone was struck dumb as Dale was suddenly pounced upon and pinned to the ground by some sort of big cat cub, the impact knocking his safari hat off his head and the binoculars out of his hand. No one recognised the animal immediately, but they didn't worry about that. There were more pressing problems to consider.

'DALE!' they yelled. Then the cub spoke.

'Hey, cool!' he said, in juvenile tones. 'What _are_ you? Do you guys belong to the park? I've never seen any of you before! Well.' He looked at Zipper. 'Apart from you. You guys always come buzzing round at mealtimes and get on our ears.'

Zipper answered him with a shrug, not knowing what to say.

'We're just visiting,' said Chip. 'Monterey Jack and Gadget are mice. Dale and I are chipmunks.'

'Chipmunks!' said the cat. 'No, wait, I _do_ know chipmunks. Well, I've seen them. You look a little different… but I _guess_ you're a chipmunk. So what's _your_ name?'

'I'm Chip. And the fly's name is Zipper.'

'_Hi_!' buzzed Zipper.

'And what are you?' asked Gadget, not stopping to think whether this was quite polite. After all, the cub had just addressed them with that same question.

'My name's Goliath,' said the cub. 'Do you guys want to play?'

'Golly, that doesn't really answer -'

'Never mind, Gadget, love,' said Monty, some instinct telling him it would be best not to let her continue. 'Sorry, Goliath, but I think Dale might want to get up.'

'What? Oh! Sorry.'

Goliath lifted his paws, but Dale did not get up straightaway. He lay there stunned for a moment, then began a laborious ascent onto his hands and knees.

'Gee, I'm sorry, mister,' said Goliath, bending down and bringing his muzzle close to Dale's battered little body. 'I didn't hurt you, did I?'

'Whatever gave you that idea?' said Dale, finally getting to his feet, with a little help from Chip and Monty, while Zipper buzzed anxiously around their heads. Gadget, meanwhile, was staring at the cub in fascination. He was a pale yellow-ish colour, and sporting a set of stripes so faint she hadn't noticed it at first. It occurred to her that he seemed somewhat disproportionate for a cat, with a long face, stubby legs and an almost semi-circular abdomen. Still, she thought, he was only young, and would probably grow into himself in time.

'You might be a little big for us to play with, lad,' said Monty. 'Don't you have any brothers or sisters?'

'Of course,' said Goliath, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. 'But they're back in the enclosure.'

'Why aren't you?' asked Dale, somewhat irritably.

'Because I have to get out sometimes,' said Goliath. 'You would too, if you had to live in an enclosure. But once I _do_ get out, there's never anybody to play with. I try playing with the birds sometimes, but they just fly away. I don't think they like being pounced on.'

'Most small animals don't,' said Dale, his tone softening. 'But maybe you could try something else. I'll play with you, if you'd like to try some different games.'

Goliath looked puzzled. '_Different_ games?'

'Sure,' said Dale. 'Like hide-and-seek or something.'

'What's that?'

'Oh, it's fun! See, what happens is you hide, and then I try to find you.'

'And then what?' He did not sound convinced.

'Well,' said Dale, 'then I hide, and _you_ find _me_.'

'Oh!' said Goliath, his expression clearing. 'You mean like hunting.'

'Um… kinda.'

'Great! Will you play that with me, Dale? Really?'

'Sure,' said Dale, picking up his safari hat and dusting it down. 'I can see the pygmy hippos any time. You guys go ahead without me, okay?'

'All right, Dale,' said Gadget. 'If that's really what you want.'

'Will you be all right, mate?' asked Monty.

'The kid just wants to play,' said Dale. 'Who am I to say no? I'll catch up with you later. Okay, Goliath, you hide first.'

The other four Rescue Rangers turned away from the bizarre play date and began their stroll through the park's grounds. Chip had landed the Ranger Plane close to an area of open grass, and they soon found themselves walking underneath picnic tables, with some kind of building in view on the horizon.

'Too bad we came before they started letting the humans in,' said Monty. 'In a few days, this place will be packed with people eating cheese sandwiches.'

'Then I'm very glad we got here when we did,' said Chip. 'We have a lot of animals to talk to, Monterey, and we don't need you holding us up with your cheese attacks.'

Gadget managed to stay quiet until she thought they were safely out of earshot of Goliath. Then she exploded into shrill and excited speech.

'You guys, what _is_ he?' she asked. 'I mean, he's clearly some kind of cat, but not like any cat _I__'__ve_ ever seen. How about you, Monty?'

'I've never seen one before, love.'

'Maybe the park bred him specially,' said Chip.

'What on earth for?' asked Monty. 'We all know humans do crazy things to con each other out of their money, but who'd want to come and see a weird looking thing like that? I mean, I don't want to sound rude, but…'

'I agree with you, Monty,' said Gadget. 'He seems like a nice kid, but he's a pretty funny looking cat. Well, I guess it's not important right now, and if we look around the park for long enough we'll probably find out all about him.'

Of course, Gadget was right about this. The Rangers made their way around the park at a leisurely pace, talking to any animals that seemed friendly, and satisfying themselves that there was no foul play afoot. After a couple of hours, they came to the park's main attraction: the big cats. Gadget, who had not forgotten her curiosity over Goliath, headed straight for a sign just outside the fence.

'Golly!' she said, once she had absorbed the first line of information. 'You guys, come and take a look at this!'

Monty, Zipper and Chip all responded to her summons immediately. Zipper hovered a little above the sign, while Chip jumped up to stand beside Gadget.

'This _has_ to be what Goliath is!' she said.

Chip read the first few words of the sign, and blinked in surprise. 'A _liger_?'

'I can't believe it!' said Monty, frowning up at them from the ground. 'Gadget, love, are you saying what I think you're saying?'

Gadget began reading out loud. ' "A liger is the offspring of a male lion and a tigress. We currently have three ligers bred from our lion Simba, and our tigress Sherni. Goliath," - oh, I was right - "Rebecca and Ruth are all happy and active cubs. The pride mentality from their father, and the tiger's natural hostility being tempered in the mother, make them a sociable trio. The three cubs are very friendly with their keepers, and they enjoy touching and interactive play. The combination of lion and tigress also produces cubs much larger than their tigon cousins (offspring of a tiger and a lioness). A ligress can reach impressive proportions, while male ligers have been known to exceed both their parents in size, and there is every chance that our own Goliath will grow to be the largest cat in the world." Golly, that's interesting! "Please be aware…" Oh, this is just telling humans not to be stupid enough to get out of their cars and try to play with the liger cubs themselves.'

'Right,' said Chip. 'I'm sure Simba and Sherni would have something to say about that. Do you suppose they're all in there?'

'All except Goliath,' said Gadget, 'if he's still off playing with Dale. Let's go and take a look. Are you coming, Monty?'

'I don't know about that, love,' said Monty, who was looking distinctly perturbed by this point. 'It's not natural, breeding lions and tigers like that, and what good is it doing anyone? You were right, Chipper - Goliath _was_ bred for the humans to come and gawk at. It's not right.'

'I can see what you mean, Monty,' said Gadget. 'It's a strange thing to do, breeding animals that are bound to be genetically unstable. Now we know why Goliath looked so strange. He and his sisters could develop all sorts of health problems, especially if he's really going to grow larger than a tiger. There's a reason why cats aren't that big naturally. They just aren't designed that way.'

'There you are, Chip,' said Monty. 'You wanted to know if there was any foul play going on in this park, and there is!'

'Well,' said Chip, jumping down from the sign, 'what would you suggest we do about it, Monterey? They've been born now, so they'll just have to make the best of it.'

'Chip's right, Monty,' said Gadget. 'You know I believe science should always be useful, and I personally wouldn't want to interbreed different species just to see what happened, but since somebody else did I'd kind of like to see the result. How about you, Zipper? You want to see the other ligers and their parents, don't you?'

She looked up at Zipper, who had yet to venture an opinion, and saw that he was pointing towards a clump of bushes not far off. She followed the direction of his arm, leaning forward and raising a paw to shield her eyes from the sun. Then she saw what Zipper was getting at.

'Oh!' she said. 'It's Dale. We'd better go get him - he's been playing with that liger long enough.'

They made their way over to the bushes, where they found Dale - his safari hat well and truly lost by now - crouching and taking shallow breaths, huddled up against a twisting branch. Chip approached him and tapped him on the shoulder.

'YAAAH!' cried Dale, jumping a foot in the air and then landing heavily. 'Oh! Hi, Chipper.' He was twitching nervously, his eyes wide and bloodshot.

'Golly, Dale, are you all right?' asked Gadget.

'You look like you're caught between two cats a rabid kangaroo,' added Monty.

'Just one cat,' gibbered Dale, with a mirthless laugh. 'We've been playing hide-and-seek for ages. He's a great kid, really. He just keeps forgetting not to - AAAAH!'

Once again, Goliath appeared out of nowhere and pinned Dale to the ground, this time yelling, 'Found you!' Then at once he withdrew his front paws, and said, 'Oh! Sorry, Dale. I forgot again.'

'No problem!' squeaked Dale.

'I wish you'd be more careful, Dale,' said Chip, helping his friend up. 'Ligers play too rough.'

'Oh.' Goliath looked suddenly downcast. 'So you know what I am.'

'We read your sign,' said Chip. 'There's no need to look like that about it. It doesn't matter to us. Well.' He glanced at Monty. 'No… really, it's not an issue.'

'What's a liger?' asked Dale.

'You could work it out if you thought about it a minute,' said Gadget.

'Now, Gadget,' said Chip. 'You know it's no good asking Dale to think.'

'_I__'__m_ a liger, Dale,' said Goliath. 'My mom's a tigress and my dad's a lion.'

'Wow!' said Dale. 'Really? Well, that's kinda neat.'

'No it's not - not really. It's a lot of pressure. All the humans want me to grow up to be the biggest cat in the world. The keepers keep weighing me and listening to my heart and checking me for parasites and stuff. That's why I have to get away sometimes. I just want to be a normal kid.'

'Of course you do, Goliath,' said Gadget, patting his left forepaw sympathetically.

'I really enjoyed playing with you today, Dale,' Goliath went on, brightening a little, 'but I have to be getting home now. It's almost feeding time, and I can't let Jillian find me missing, or she'd find my escape route and get it fixed.'

'What are you going to do when the human visitors start arriving?' asked Chip. 'Some of them would be sure to see you around the park if you kept getting out.'

'I know all about the humans coming,' said Goliath, 'and I know I'll only be able to go out at night once they do. I'll _need_ to get out, after a day of people staring at me and wondering how big I'm going to get. Still, some humans are nice. I like Jillian.'

'He and his sisters like touching and interactive play,' Gadget said to Dale.

'Well,' said Dale, 'don't we all?'

'You can meet my sisters if you like,' said Goliath. 'And my mom and dad. I'll take you into our enclosure.'

'We were planning to hop the fence,' said Chip, 'but maybe it would be better to go in as your guests.'

'Cool!' said Goliath. 'Jump on my back. You can ride me too, Zipper, if you promise not to tickle.'

Zipper made a noise of assent, and settled himself on Goliath's head. Chip, Dale Gadget and Monty jumped up onto his back, and were taken via a scenic route to the lion, tiger and liger enclosure. Goliath got in via a hole in the fence that was hidden amongst a lot of foliage, and then carried the Rangers along a dirt track.

'Golly, this is a big space,' said Gadget.

'Better than you'd get in a zoo,' added Chip.

'Yeah, well, it feels awful small when you have to live in it,' said Goliath.

The Rangers noticed a few lionesses around, and eventually they came upon one who had a litter of very young cubs. A male lion was near her, and some distance away was a tigress with two cubs of her own.

'That's my mom and sisters over there,' said Goliath, though all of the Rangers had managed to work this out for themselves. 'This is my dad and his other mate, Nala, and those are my half-brothers and -sister. Everyone, these are some friends of mine.'

'What on earth are they?' asked Nala. 'Well, I recognise a fly when I see one, but…'

'Oh, we're just rodents,' said Gadget, hoping to speed the conversation up, as she was keen to see Goliath's two sisters. 'You know, like porcupines and mole rats, or the African pygmy mouse.'

The male lion, who was surely Simba, and Nala both stared at her blankly.

'Bred in captivity, love,' Monty whispered in Gadget's ear.

'I don't like you carrying those things around on your back, Goliath,' said Simba. 'Remember who you are.'

'I don't _want_ to remember who I am, Dad!' said Goliath. 'I'm just here to attract tourists, remember? I'd rather be a normal kid with normal friends.'

'Those don't look like normal friends to me, son.'

'Well, I like them. Come on, guys, I'll introduce you to my mom and sisters.'


	2. Chapter 2

_Chip and Dale__'__s Rescue Rangers: _**Big Cat Safari**

Part 2

He took them over to Sherni, the tigress, who was washing the smaller of her two ligress cubs and allowing the larger one to play with her tail. As she slid down Goliath's own tail after her companions, Gadget was surprised to see that both cubs looked extremely similar to their brother. They had the same basic colours and markings, and Gadget could not help but feel a little disappointed. She had hoped to get a taste of the variety of patterns and colourings that ligers must surely come in.

'Goliath!' said Sherni, rising to her feet and knocking both of her daughters off balance. 'Where on earth have you been? Haven't I told you not to wander off?'

'It's all right, Mom,' said Goliath. 'What's anyone going to do to me here?'

'You know I don't like it. And look - you've brought vermin back with you.'

'Mo-om!' said Goliath. 'They're my friends!'

'Whoa!' The larger of the two female cubs (who was still considerably smaller than her brother) crouched down and stared at the Rescue Rangers, swaying her tail and levelling her shoulders as though to pounce. 'What _are_ they?'

'Rodents, duh,' said Goliath. Then he suddenly jumped onto his sister's back and they rolled over and over in the grass, laughing.

'We're the Rescue Rangers,' Chip said to Sherni, trying to ignore the wide-eyed stare that the smaller ligress cub was giving them. 'I'm Chip, and this is Gadget, Dale, Zipper and Monterey Jack. Goliath sort of… found us.'

'Oh,' said Sherni, clearly taken aback by the whole situation. 'Well, my name's Sherni, and this is my daughter Ruth. Over there is Rebecca. Did you bring Goliath back? Thank you, if so. Now, if only you could keep him here.'

'Hey, Ruth! Dale!' called Goliath. 'Come over here and play!'

Ruth, who had evidently paid attention to Chip's introduction, turned her doleful gaze onto Dale. 'You play?'

'Uh, yeah,' said Dale, rubbing the aching muscles in the small of his back.

'Oh. We'd better go, then.'

Ruth got to her feet and trotted towards her brother and sister. Dale hung back for a moment, looking uncharacteristically tired, and then seemed to get a sudden burst of energy and ran after her.

'So.' Sherni looked at the remaining ensemble. 'Rescue Rangers, did you say? I guess that means you help people. Maybe you really _could_ keep him in here, then.'

'I could probably fix the hole in your fence,' said Gadget.

'Well, that would be great,' said Sherni. 'I've tried showing it to Jillian, but she just doesn't take any notice. I don't like it when he goes out. I get these… _feelings_.'

'What kind of feelings?' asked Chip. 'Do you think there's anything wrong here?'

Sherni had all of his attention, and most of Zipper's, but Monty and Gadget were both preoccupied with watching the cubs. Gadget was interested to see whether they moved exactly like other cats, or if there was anything else of scientific interest she could spot, while Monty was more concerned with their health and happiness.

At first glance, Ruth hadn't seemed to match the description of 'happy and active' that was given on the sign, but now she seemed to be enjoying play-fighting with her siblings over Dale. Monty could tell that Rebecca was going easy on Ruth, and that Goliath was going easy on both of them. Ruth was clearly the runt of the litter. Not only was she small, but she had straggly fur, skinny legs and a distended stomach. Rebecca, on the other hand, was much healthier looking and really quite attractive. She had been lucky. Humans may come to see Goliath, Monty thought, but they would stay to look at Rebecca.

'WHOA!' cried Dale, as he was suddenly hurled into the Rangers' midst.

'What _are_ you doing?' asked Chip.

Dale, lying on his front and rubbing his head, said dazedly, 'Touching and interactive play. Oof!'

Apparently he had ceased to be surprised when a liger cub pounced on him, or perhaps the reduced reaction was due to the fact that it had been middle-sized Rebecca who had winded him this time.

'Oh, Becs, I forgot to tell you,' said Goliath, running up to join them. 'He doesn't like that.'

'He doesn't?' said Rebecca. 'Well, _that__'__s_ not much of a toy!'

'Food!' Simba called suddenly, and immediately all three liger cubs ran towards the land rover that had just driven up. Nala crouched over her cubs and looked fierce, while Sherni lowered her ears and began to growl deep in her throat. The Rangers were surprised by this, as the cubs had approached the vehicle with such confidence.

The doors opened, and two humans wearing safari gear stepped out onto the trail. One was a frightened looking man with an enormous tranquiliser gun. The other was a beautiful, smiling young woman who went straight to the back of the land rover.

'Okay, guys, just a minute!' she said, laughing, as the liger cubs yowled and pawed at her legs.

Sherni was still growling. Zipper was generally no more afraid of tigers than of any other creature that ate an insect-free diet, but the four rodents' instincts were telling them to stay stock still and hope this incensed tigress did not see them. Of course Sherni knew perfectly well the Rangers were there, and by all indication she meant them no harm, and for this reason Chip was able to overcome his instinct and risk a glance in her direction. He was surprised to see that she was not looking at her cubs, but at the man with the gun, her teeth bared and her ears laid flat.

'Jillian!' the man hissed. 'She's doing it again! Can I tranq her?'

'Don't be ridiculous, Martin,' said Jillian, who had begun spreading pungent hunks of raw meat around the place, still pursued by the excited trio of ligers. 'Just don't act so scared, and don't look so ready with that gun.'

'I _have_ to be ready with the gun! You know that!'

'Oh, they won't hurt us. Just relax, okay? Hey, Sherni.' Jillian produced a towel from the back of the land rover, wiped her hands and approached the growling tigress, still smelling strongly of raw meat. 'What's up, huh? We're not going to hurt you, _or_ your babies. That's my good girl.'

The Rangers watched, wide-eyed, as Jillian crouched down in front of Sherni and began stroking her head. Sherni did not object, but she did not stop growling either.

'Keep him away, Jillian,' she said, in chilling tones. 'I don't trust him. Keep him away from my babies.'

'What is it with you and Martin, huh?' crooned Jillian. Then she swivelled round - actually turned her back on the growling tigress, to everyone's horror - and called, 'Martin, can you please get back in the car? She just doesn't like you.'

Martin leapt back into the land rover, but he kept the window open and the barrel of his tranquiliser gun resting on the sill. Jillian turned back to Sherni and continued to stroke her, talking softly all the time, but Sherni did not calm down until all three of her young had finished eating and were at her side.

'Okay, guys,' Jillian said after a while, 'I think that's enough for today. I'll see you again soon. And Sherni, you just start being nice to Martin, all right?'

'Nice to Martin!' hissed Sherni, forgetting all about her good mood.

'What's wrong with Martin?' Chip asked her. 'You _do_ know that's only a tranquiliser gun he has, don't you? Those humans just want to be able to protect themselves if one of you guys gets… you know… angry.'

'I just don't trust him, that's all,' said Sherni. 'He makes my hair stand on end.'

'I don't like him either,' said Ruth. 'Something doesn't smell right about him. But what can he do to us with Jillian here?'

'More to the point, Ruth,' said Dale, 'what can he do with all these big cats here? I wouldn't worry, Sherni. You and the lions could take that guy down between you, no matter how many tranquiliser guns he brings.'

'Anyone who tries to hurt my babies gets ripped to pieces,' said Sherni. 'And that's why all three of you have to _stay here_, okay?'

'I'd listen to your mom if I were you, Goliath,' said Chip.

'Huh,' said Dale. 'You _would_ say that.' But then a nudge from Monty, followed by a terrifying look from Sherni, made him hastily add, 'And that's because she's right, Goliath. Not all humans are like Jillian, you know. Some of them are real jerks.'

'I can see why someone would want to catnap any of you three,' said Gadget. 'You just make such a fascinating experiment, and I'll bet a human scientist who doesn't care about you personally would just love to dissect you and study - whoa!'

She escaped Sherni's snapping jaws just in time, thanks entirely to Chip and Dale, who had seen what was about to happen and each grabbed one arm to yank her out of the way. Zipper, meanwhile, had flown a good ten feet into the air and planned on staying there until it was time to leave.

'Sorry, Sherni,' said Gadget, laughing nervously. 'I was just being objective. Of course I didn't mean that _I_ wanted to do that.'

'I'd like to see you try!' said Rebecca, her voice full of fun, crouching down and swaying from side to side.

'Maybe we'd better be going, mates,' said Monty, putting his arms around his three companions - who were still clutching each other - and beginning to back them all away from Sherni and her cubs. 'It's been really nice meeting all of you.'

Sherni made no reply, but continued to look hostile, so the four rodents turned and began to run. Zipper, wasting no time, flew after them and soon got ahead.

'Okay,' said Chip, once they were out of the enclosure and everyone had caught their breath. 'Better get on with it, then.'

.-.-.

Once they had finished their tour of the park, the Rangers found a way into the gift shop and small café close to where they had parked the Ranger Plane. Chip quickly found a full vending machine, climbed up inside it and began throwing snacks down to Monty and Zipper. Dale browsed the toy section of the shop, while Gadget began examining some of the pamphlets displayed on one side of the counter.

'Here's one about ligers,' she said, struggling under the weight of the sheaf of gloss paper as she tried to manoeuvre it out of its stand. 'I hope there are some pictures in here. I'd like to see if ligers always looks like those three.'

'Bet they don't,' said Dale. She appeared to be talking to him, as he was the only one in earshot, though she was perhaps unaware of that fact. 'Hey, look, Siberian chipmunk toys! Maybe I'll take one of these. Those guys were nice.'

'You're right,' said Gadget, as she opened the pamphlet out on the counter. 'About ligers looking different, I mean, but they do tend to look the same as the others in their litter. That's so interesting! Sometimes male ligers get a mane. Well, that's not surprising, I guess. Oh, and tigons do too. I wonder if Goliath will grow a mane.'

'What's the different between a liger and a tigon?'

'The parents, of course. Tigons come from a lioness and a male tiger. It says that male ligers are almost always sterile, but females are often fertile. Golly, I wonder why that would be. There's bound to be some expectation on Rebecca, then, and maybe Ruth as well, if she grows into herself. Oh, and there's some history in here too. Hmm… It's funny how we never heard of them before, Dale. It says that ligers were definitely bred in Asia in the late nineteenth century, and maybe earlier. Well, that makes sense. World leaders used to try and impress each other with dangerous animals, especially big cats. Humans are odd creatures, aren't they?'

'Nineteenth-century Asia, huh?' said Dale, who was wondering whether or not he'd like an okapi toy as a souvenir, having recently enjoyed a friendly exchange with a female of the species named Ola. 'Does that mean they were bred from Asian lions?'

'Golly,' said Gadget. 'What a good question.'

Dale turned and frowned at her. 'Well, there's no need to sound so surprised.'

'Sorry, Dale. I'm just surprised it didn't occur to me as well. Let's see. Hmm… it doesn't say whether the lions were Asian or not, but if you think about it, why would they bother moving big cats over from Africa just for that? They wouldn't have been going for size in those days - the novelty alone would have been enough.'

'Grub's up, everyone!' called Monty. He and Chip were dragging packets of salted snacks along the ground, and Zipper flew ahead of them with a carton of apple juice.

'Hey, Chip!' said Dale, waving to his friend from the top of a pile of soft toys. 'Check out these neat liger plushies I found. Can I just have this little one?'

'Little?' said Chip. 'It's twice the size of you! You can't have anything that won't fit in the Ranger Plane.'

'Aww, but Chip…'

'No buts. Put that thing down and go find yourself a pencil topper or something.'

Dale's expression darkened as he put down the toy and climbed down from the display, chattering away to himself at sixty miles an hour. He then fell quiet when he reached the rest of the group, sat down and joined them in their meal of peanuts and cheese snacks. Zipper managed to jam the straw into the apple juice box, and they took turns drinking from it. Then, ten minutes later, the Rangers were walking under the picnic tables with Dale dragging a key ring that was sewn into a small liger toy.

'That won't fit in the Ranger Plane, Dale,' said Chip, not for the first time.

'I'll _make_ it fit,' said Dale.

'If you can't, you'll have to take it back in there.'

'You're just jealous 'cos you don't _have_ a liger keychain.'

'If I wanted a liger keychain I'd have taken one,' said Chip. 'But I didn't, because my giraffe eraser is way better.'

'It is not,' said Dale.

'Is too.'

'Is not!'

'Is too!'

'Is not!'

'WAIT!'

They all turned, and Dale instinctively ducked behind Monty when he saw a liger cub hurtling towards him once again. It was Rebecca.

'I'm so glad you haven't left yet!' she said, coming to a sudden stop in front of them. 'You have to help us. Goliath's missing!'

'What do you mean missing, love?' asked Monty. 'I thought he got out all the time.'

'He went out again after you left,' said Rebecca, 'and he should have been back by now. He's always there in time for when Jillian and Kevin come to check on us, but he missed them, and he's always so careful!'

'So someone's already been?' asked Chip. 'They know he's missing?'

'Yes,' said Rebecca. 'The whole staff are looking for him now, but that doesn't mean they'll find him.'

'Well golly, of course it doesn't,' said Gadget. 'Don't worry, Rebecca. We'll help you find him.'

'But he's not _just_ missing, is he?' said Dale, looking up at Rebecca. 'You think he's been catnapped.'

'I'm sure he has.'

'There's no proof of that,' said Chip. 'Maybe he just fell asleep somewhere.'

'But Chip,' said Dale, 'Gadget said herself that humans might want to take him and do experiments on him. He could be in terrible danger!'

'He _is_!' cried Rebecca.

'All right,' said Monty, 'let's all just calm down a bit here. I'm sure that if someone _does_ have him, they're not going to do anything to him right away. He's supposed to grow into the largest cat in the world, isn't he? Well then, why would anyone want to harm him now? Humans are obsessed with size. Whatever they're going to do to him, they'll want him to finish growing first.'

'Then why take him now?' asked Dale.

'Oh, that's easy,' said Gadget. 'For one thing, nobody wants to take on a fully grown big cat, so it's better to do it now while he's still relatively helpless. For another thing, even if this person _could_ confine an adult liger, somebody would be bound to notice somewhere along the line when they tried to move him. And finally, if he or she wants to use Goliath for some kind of financial gain, it would be much easier to present him as one's own liger long after the search is called off and the heat's died down. Someone might still figure it out, of course, but I'm only speculating.'

'You're right as usual, Gadget,' said Chip. 'All right, so the first thing we need to do is ask around the park and find out if anybody saw anything.'

'What?' said Rebecca. 'But that'll take forever!'

'She's right, Chip,' said Dale. 'Anyway, we already know who did it.'

'We do?' said Chip.

'Sure we do. It was that Martin guy.'

'Now, Dale, if we based every case around the gut instinct of some tiger, then -'

'Hey!' said Rebecca. 'My mother is not just "some tiger"!'

'The girl's right there, pally,' said Monty. 'Sherni's the kid's mother, and mothers always know.'

'That's right,' said Dale. 'And that's not all. The evidence is stacked up against this guy. For one thing, it has to be somebody who works in the park. Well, I guess someone else _could_ get in here, but what are the chances of that? And it's bound to be a human, isn't it? What could any other animal do with a liger?'

'Well…' said Chip.

'_And_,' said Dale, 'Martin even carries that big gun around with him. His job is, he's the tranquiliser guy! And, and, and he knows the cats' routine, doesn't he? He must have known Goliath got out, and he didn't bother saying anything. I'll just bet he knows about the hole in the fence. Heck, he probably even made it!'

'Wow, Dale,' Rebecca said admiringly. 'You're a really good detective.'

'Thanks!' said Dale, beaming.

'All right, all right,' said Chip. 'Let's just say it _is_ Martin. How do we find him?'

'Oh, that's easy,' said Rebecca. 'He's looking for Goliath with everybody else.'

'To avoid suspicion,' Dale added knowingly.

'All right then,' said Monty. 'We just have to watch him, and then follow him when he leaves.'

'They'll be searching for hours,' said Chip. 'So while we're tailing him, we might as well interview the animals at the same time. If it turns out Martin has nothing to do with this, then just waiting for him to leave will be a complete waste of time.'

'You'd better go home, Rebecca,' said Gadget. 'We don't want them to think _you__'__re_ missing as well, do we?'

'No, I guess not,' said Rebecca. 'I'll give you a ride as far as the enclosure if you like. And then I'll go in, but you have to promise to keep us posted.'

'Of course we will, love,' said Monty.

'All right,' said Chip. 'So let's go!'


	3. Chapter 3

_Chip and Dale__'__s Rescue Rangers: _**Big Cat Safari**

Part 3

'You'd better ride on us again, you guys,' said Rebecca. 'We'll be quicker.'

'Well,' said Chip, 'if you're okay with that…'

'For goodness' sake!' said Ruth. 'You're all tiny! We don't even know you're there.'

'Would you like to ride Ruth with me, Gadget?' asked Dale. 'She's real comfy.'

'Gadget and I will both be quite comfortable on Rebecca, Dale,' said Chip.

'You guys, seriously?' said Rebecca. 'We're supposed to be saving our brother!'

'You're right, love,' said Monty. 'Come on, you two, let's get going.'

By silent agreement, Zipper and the two mice rode Rebecca while Chip took a turn on Ruth with Dale. Once they were well away from the park's searchlights, the world became dark. This was no problem for the two ligresses, and they stalked easily along the poorly lit back road that Dale had directed them to take.

'So,' said Ruth after a while, turning her head to look at Chip and Dale. 'You guys like Gadget, huh? She's a different species from you, isn't she?'

'Yes,' said Chip.

'And that doesn't bother you?'

'Not particularly.'

'Ruth,' said Dale. 'Are you feeling insecure about your identity?'

'Not exactly,' said Ruth. 'It's just good to know that my parents aren't the only ones, I guess. I mean, it's not like we can even say we're that close as a family. Sure, Mom loves us, but it's not in her to have anything to do with her kids' father except tolerate him. If our dad was a tiger, he'd be in a separate enclosure from us, and we'd be tigers too so it wouldn't bother us. But Dad's there, and Mom puts up with him, and he's nice and everything, but he definitely prefers Nala and the cubs he had with her.'

'How's your relationship with them?' asked Dale. 'Do you get to play with them?'

'I do more than Goliath or Rebecca,' said Ruth, 'because I'm so small. No one thinks I'll accidentally hurt them. Dad encourages us to be sociable, and Mom encourages us not to, and neither one of them feels totally right. It's just sort of confusing.'

Dale glanced over his shoulder at Chip, who was clearly at a loss. Then he faced the front again, gave Ruth a pat on the head and said, '_Life__'__s_ confusing, Ruth, and there are other cross-breed animals out there who know exactly how you feel. Y'know, there have been ligers in the world since at least the late nineteenth century.'

'Really?' said Ruth, brightening at once.

'Really. Oh, it's a left here. Rebecca! Left!'

'How do you know that?' asked Chip.

'Because I've been here before,' said Dale.

'No, dummy, I mean about the nineteenth century!'

'Oh. Well, obviously I'm a big cat expert. Okay, this is it coming up.'

'Golly,' said Gadget, as the two cubs stopped several yards in front of an old four-storey warehouse, and the Rangers dismounted. 'That _wasn__'__t_ far. And it's hardly original. If I knew this was here, it would be the first place I'd look for a missing liger cub. Well, I do know now, _and_ we know he's here, but what I mean is, surely the humans know about this place.'

'I bet they've got their eyes on it for when they want to expand the park,' said Monty.

'Well, that's a ways off,' said Chip, 'but as for right now, I don't think those park people are even considering the possibility that Goliath's been catnapped. Let's say Martin conveniently found that hole in the fence and showed it to everyone. The rest of the park is sealed up, and always has been, as far as the staff all know. They probably haven't even stopped to realise that a liger cub can jump that gate. It would be pretty typical of humans to assume too much like that.'

'Can we please get on with it?' said Rebecca. 'Where to now, Dale?'

'Okay, girls,' said Dale, 'don't get upset, but I really think you should stay out here for now. We don't want Martin finding you. I think the rest of us should go in, figure out our next move and then come out and let you know what's happening.'

'Sounds sensible, mate,' said Monty.

'Well,' said Rebecca, 'since you're all so stupidly small, and since Martin knows us, I guess that _is_ a good plan. But come and tell us as soon as you know what's going on, okay? We can help, you know. I could tear out Martin's throat if I wanted to. Just look at my teeth!'

'Some other time, love,' said Monty, flinching away from Rebecca's open mouth. 'Come on, we'd better get in there. You girls just stay in the shadows, all right?'

'Yeah, sure,' said Rebecca. 'So, Dale, are you showing them where to go or what?'

Dale dropped to all fours and scampered past those who were in front of him, and his four fellow Rescue Rangers immediately began to follow. He led them through a series of rooms filled up with all kinds of junk that mildly interested Gadget, and down into a dimly lit basement where they immediately saw Martin. He was sitting on a collapsible metal chair and fiddling around with a two-way radio. This radio was one of a number of items scattered around an old desk with a crooked leg.

'Golly, is he going to use that thing?' said Gadget. 'What if the police or somebody picked up on his signal?'

'What if they did?' asked Chip. 'Could you fix it for that to happen, Gadget?'

'Maybe,' said Gadget, 'if he'd leave it alone for a while. Dale, where's Goliath?'

'He's behind that thing,' said Dale, pointing to a crumbling old bookcase with several shelves missing. 'It's hiding a door to another room. Some stupid attempt by Martin to cover up in case he's found here, I guess. Goliath was asleep last time I saw him - he must have been tranqued. I'd sure like to find a way in there, though, in case he wakes up and gets scared.'

'Andy!' Martin said suddenly, as his radio began to crackle. The reception was terrible, understandably, as they were underground. 'Where the heck are you? I've got the goods ready to go!'

'I _knew_ he'd be moving him soon,' said Chip. 'This could be a huge problem.'

'We just need to get him out fast,' said Dale. 'It would be nice if we could get Martin arrested, but if all we can do is get Goliath away, that'll be enough.'

'A few _hours_?' said Martin, wide-eyed and dabbing sweat from his brow with the back of his sleeve. 'You expect me to hold it here that long?'

'Oh, good, the getaway vehicle's delayed,' said Gadget.

'Then all we need is for someone to find Martin here with Goliath,' said Chip. 'But how? No one will see any lights on or anything down here in the basement, which is kind of the point, I guess. There's the radio, like we were saying, but he won't use that again if he's smart. Unless he has to.'

'Maybe he _will_ have to,' said Gadget. 'You never know. I'll play around with it just as soon as he's finished.'

'We need a human to find him and call the police,' said Monty. 'Now, couldn't one of those cubs bring somebody here from the park?'

'Better be Jillian,' said Dale. 'I don't know who else would follow them. Okay, so that's a plan. Now, how do we get through that door? Maybe we could break up that bookcase. It looks pretty rotten already.'

'All right, Dale, let's you and me do that,' said Chip. 'Zipper, I want you to distract Martin so Gadget can fiddle with his radio, and Monty, you can tell Ruth and Rebecca that we need them to bring Jillian.'

'Right you are, Chipper,' said Monty, while Zipper buzzed his assent and gave a mid-air salute.

'Just try to hurry it up,' said Martin, who was now sweating profusely and filling the basement with a strong smell of fear. 'And don't call me unless… no, _even if_ it's an emergency, okay? We do not want to be overheard. Out.'

He put down his mouthpiece, then slumped back into the rusty old chair, which groaned under his weight. Chip and Dale were already huddled into a corner of the bookcase, gnawing at the rotten wood, when Zipper began buzzing as loud as he could and Gadget began trying to prise open a panel on the two-way radio with a bulldog clip that happened to be lying around.

'This guy's a jerk,' said Dale. 'Catnapping ligers is bad enough at the best of times, but Goliath's just a baby! What do you suppose Martin's going to do with him?'

'Sell him,' said Chip. 'Monterey said he might want to keep him until he's fully-grown, but that seems risky to me. Still, I suppose it's possible he's some kind of nut who's obsessed with possessing the pelt of all the largest creatures in the world, or something like that. If we pay attention, maybe we'll find out.'

'Maybe,' said Dale. 'Keep at it, Zipper!'

Clearly Zipper was driving Martin to distraction, and he had no idea what to do about it. There were no windows to open, and Zipper refused to be ushered out of the door to the stairwell. Finally Martin picked up a piece of rusty metal piping and began chasing Zipper round the room with it. Inside the two-way radio, Gadget was satisfied that Martin would be kept busy for a while yet.

.-.-.

'Should we both go?' asked Ruth, once Monty had explained the plan to her and Rebecca. 'What if it comes down to… you know… violence?'

'If one of us is staying to fight him,' said Rebecca, 'then obviously it should be me. No offence, Ruthie, but… you know.'

'I know,' said Ruth. 'But I'm not sure I could bring Jillian here on my own if she's determined to put me back in the enclosure.'

'Why don't you both go?' said Monty. 'It won't take you long, and we've been in worse scrapes than this with no big cats to fight for us.'

'All right,' said Rebecca. 'But just be careful, okay? Don't let him take Goliath anywhere, or do anything to him.'

'Not to worry, love,' said Monty. 'Martin's just sitting tight waiting for this vehicle, and the bloke on the radio said he'd be hours yet.'

'All right,' said Ruth. Then she and Rebecca turned and slunk off into the night, while Monty made his way back down into the basement.

.-.-.

Gadget was out of sight, and Zipper was buzzing around Martin's head. When Monty arrived, Martin had just given up the chase and slumped back into his chair. Zipper continued to buzz around, knowing that he was keeping Martin from seeing what was happening to the radio and bookcase, even if he was no longer getting a noticeable reaction.

'Need a hand, mates?' asked Monty, as he joined Chip and Dale on the bookcase.

'How about a set of teeth?' said Dale, rubbing his aching jaw.

'Right-o,' said Monty, and he began to chew. Then, after a few minutes, he stopped and said, 'You know, mates, Martin might start to notice something's up when this thing goes. Ruth said something about us maybe having to fight, and I've just thought - we'll be at quite a disadvantage if he's still got that tranquiliser gun.'

Chip stopped chewing, thought for a moment and then scrabbled up to a high shelf on the bookcase.

'There it is,' he said, after a quick look round, pointing underneath the desk. 'Monty, do you think you could open that thing up and take out the darts?'

'I reckon so,' said Monty. 'And do what with them?'

'Hide them,' said Chip. 'Maybe we'll take them out of here once we're through this thing, but in the meantime - WHOA!'

He felt his balance begin to slip as the bookcase wobbled beneath his feet. Then, just as it was about to collapse he, Dale and Monty all shot from it and bolted across the room. Chip, who was higher than the other two, ended up on top of the two-way radio. Martin leapt to his feet and stared aghast at the tumbling bookcase.

'Hi, Chip,' said Gadget, popping her head out from inside the radio. 'Did you get that bookcase out of the way?'

'Looks like it,' said Chip, watching as Dale rushed back across the room and squeezed under the gap in the bottom of the door. 'How are _you_ doing?'

'Well,' said Gadget, 'I think I'm just about done here. This thing is tuned to a whole bunch of frequencies now. If Martin uses it again, he might be heard by the police or a trucker or a couple of kids playing with their walkie-talkies or something. I just hope they're kids with enough sense to call the police.'

'Kids won't be playing with walkie-talkies at this time of night, Gadget.'

'Oh. No, of course not. Silly me. Still, this is only a backup plan, in case Ruth and Rebecca can't get Jillian here, or Martin sees her and silences her.'

'Silences her?' said Chip. For some reason, he had not considered this. 'How?'

'Well, by tying her up and putting her in that back room,' said Gadget. 'I _would_ say he could easily do that, but I'm sure Ruth and Rebecca can stop him. They really could tear him to pieces, you know, if they wanted to. Mind you, he does have that tranquiliser gun. Oh, never mind. Strike that. I see Monty's taking out all the darts.'

'That's true,' said Chip. 'I think we should go help him move them.'

Dale, meanwhile, had found Goliath awake but groggy, and in the early stages of getting upset. He was lying in a cage that was not quite big enough for him, coming slowly out of a heavy stupor.

'Where am I?' he said drowsily. 'Mom? Mom, where are you?'

'Goliath, it's me, Dale,' said Dale, slipping through the bars of the cage and climbing onto the cub's left forepaw. 'Don't panic, okay? You've been catnapped, but we're here to save you. Jillian's on her way, and if she can't get here, we'll find some other way to get you out. But your sisters are trying to bring her right now.'

'Jillian?' said Goliath. 'Where's my mom?'

'She's back at the park. You'll see her real soon, I promise.'

'Wha… what happened?'

'You were catnapped,' Dale said again. 'Martin tranqued you.'

'Martin? I never liked him. I want my mom. I have to get out of here.'

Before Dale could stop him, Goliath tried to stand up, banged his head hard on the roof of the cage and slumped back down again with a cry of, 'OW!'

'Are you all right?' asked Dale.

'Um… yeah, I think so.'

'Just wait there… I mean… just a sec.' Dale hopped out of the cage, squeezed back under the door and climbed onto a piece of the demolished bookcase. 'Hey, Gadget! Goliath wants to get out. Can you please come pick the lock with your tail?'

'Sure thing, Dale,' said Gadget, and she began to set down the tranquiliser dart she was holding in both arms, but Chip put a restraining hand on her shoulder.

'Hold on a minute,' he said. 'We can't let him out yet. Martin has to be caught with the goods packaged and ready to go.'

'_Goods_?' squeaked Dale. 'Goliath is a child, Chip, and he's locked in a cage he can't even stand up in! Are you going to come in here and tell him what you just told me?'

'Eww, a rat!'

No sooner had he heard these words than Dale found himself being assaulted with Martin's rusty metal pole. He just managed to dodge the blow, and then beat a hasty retreat back into the room where Goliath was being kept. Martin flung the door open and gave chase. With nowhere else to hide, Dale ran back into Goliath's cage and jumped over his body. The bars were enough to shield him, but instinct told him to put as much bulk as possible between himself and his attacker. Only when Goliath began growling deep in his throat, his hackles rising into an almost vertical position, did Dale realise that he had escaped Martin's pole.

'How on earth did that guy get a job in a safari park?' Gadget wondered, as she began carrying her tranquiliser dart towards the stairwell. 'He's scared of big cats, and he doesn't even know the difference between a chipmunk and a rat.'

'You want lunch, Goliath?' said Martin, lowering his pole and sneering down at Dale.

'Get away from me, you jerk!' said Goliath, and he made such a terrifying noise that seemed to come from deep inside his body, that Martin dropped his pole altogether and fled the room.

'Y'know,' said Dale, 'I'm afraid you might kill him if we let you out of here just yet.'

'I might,' said Goliath. 'What else is there to do?'

'Well, if the human police catch him, they'll punish him. I really think that's better than killing him, Goliath.'

'Really? Why?'

'Well…' Dale wondered whether Goliath might not be a little too young, a little too sheltered and a little too feline to get into that debate.

'Will he have to suffer for a long time?'

'Oh, yes, a _long_ time.'

'I knew I didn't want all this hype about being the biggest,' said Goliath. 'That's why Martin wants me, isn't it? Whatever he's planning to do with me, that's the reason.'

'Yeah,' said Dale. 'I guess it is.'

'And you know, it… it scares me too, knowing I'm going to grow so big. I've heard the humans talking about it. They don't seem worried about the girls, but I've heard some of them say that I might _never_ stop growing. I might get so big I can't support my own body weight, and then… I don't _know_ what then!'

'We're all scared of something,' said Dale, unable to think of any words of comfort more specific to Goliath's particular fear. After all, for all anyone knew, these terrible predictions might come true. 'All we can do is try not to worry, and just face these things if they ever actually happen. But maybe they never will. You just have to remember that. I know you'll feel better once you get out of this cage.'

'Yeah, maybe. When is Jillian getting here?'

The wait was longer than anyone had anticipated, as they had all forgotten to take into account the likelihood that Jillian - if she followed the two liger cubs at all - would come on foot, and be as slow about it as any other human. She arrived at last, however, following Rebecca and cradling Ruth in her arms.

'Jillian!' said Chip. 'Excellent! Okay, now she needs to run back up the stairs and call the police. Rebecca, be ready to protect her from Martin.'

'Martin!' said Jillian, staring at the shattered bookcase and the open door behind it. 'What is going on in here?'

'Andy's delayed,' said Martin.

'What do you mean, Andy's delayed?'

'And this rat or something broke the bookcase.'

'What on earth are you talking about? Come on, Rebecca, there's a good girl.'

Rebecca followed Jillian, who still held Ruth in her arms, as she stepped over the pile of wood into Goliath's prison cell. Chip, Gadget, Monty and Zipper were all exchanging wide-eyed, puzzled looks. Ruth and Rebecca were keeping quiet, but both had stiffened and raised their hackles slightly. They seemed uncertain. Chip's mind was racing ahead to what might happen next. With two loose, angry young ligresses and no tranquiliser darts around, it seemed entirely possible that they'd end up with two or three corpses on their hands, be they human, feline or both.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chip and Dale__'__s Rescue Rangers: _**Big Cat Safari**

Part 4

'You'd better ride on us again, you guys,' said Rebecca. 'We'll be quicker.'

'Well,' said Chip, 'if you're okay with that…'

'For goodness' sake!' said Ruth. 'You're all tiny! We don't even know you're there.'

'Would you like to ride Ruth with me, Gadget?' asked Dale. 'She's real comfy.'

'Gadget and I will both be quite comfortable on Rebecca, Dale,' said Chip.

'You guys, seriously?' said Rebecca. 'We're supposed to be saving our brother!'

'You're right, love,' said Monty. 'Come on, you two, let's get going.'

By silent agreement, Zipper and the two mice rode Rebecca while Chip took a turn on Ruth with Dale. Once they were well away from the park's searchlights, the world became dark. This was no problem for the two ligresses, and they stalked easily along the poorly lit back road that Dale had directed them to take.

'So,' said Ruth after a while, turning her head to look at Chip and Dale. 'You guys like Gadget, huh? She's a different species from you, isn't she?'

'Yes,' said Chip.

'And that doesn't bother you?'

'Not particularly.'

'Ruth,' said Dale. 'Are you feeling insecure about your identity?'

'Not exactly,' said Ruth. 'It's just good to know that my parents aren't the only ones, I guess. I mean, it's not like we can even say we're that close as a family. Sure, Mom loves us, but it's not in her to have anything to do with her kids' father except tolerate him. If our dad was a tiger, he'd be in a separate enclosure from us, and we'd be tigers too so it wouldn't bother us. But Dad's there, and Mom puts up with him, and he's nice and everything, but he definitely prefers Nala and the cubs he had with her.'

'How's your relationship with them?' asked Dale. 'Do you get to play with them?'

'I do more than Goliath or Rebecca,' said Ruth, 'because I'm so small. No one thinks I'll accidentally hurt them. Dad encourages us to be sociable, and Mom encourages us not to, and neither one of them feels totally right. It's just sort of confusing.'

Dale glanced over his shoulder at Chip, who was clearly at a loss. Then he faced the front again, gave Ruth a pat on the head and said, '_Life__'__s_ confusing, Ruth, and there are other cross-breed animals out there who know exactly how you feel. Y'know, there have been ligers in the world since at least the late nineteenth century.'

'Really?' said Ruth, brightening at once.

'Really. Oh, it's a left here. Rebecca! Left!'

'How do you know that?' asked Chip.

'Because I've been here before,' said Dale.

'No, dummy, I mean about the nineteenth century!'

'Oh. Well, obviously I'm a big cat expert. Okay, this is it coming up.'

'Golly,' said Gadget, as the two cubs stopped several yards in front of an old four-storey warehouse, and the Rangers dismounted. 'That _wasn__'__t_ far. And it's hardly original. If I knew this was here, it would be the first place I'd look for a missing liger cub. Well, I do know now, _and_ we know he's here, but what I mean is, surely the humans know about this place.'

'I bet they've got their eyes on it for when they want to expand the park,' said Monty.

'Well, that's a ways off,' said Chip, 'but as for right now, I don't think those park people are even considering the possibility that Goliath's been catnapped. Let's say Martin conveniently found that hole in the fence and showed it to everyone. The rest of the park is sealed up, and always has been, as far as the staff all know. They probably haven't even stopped to realise that a liger cub can jump that gate. It would be pretty typical of humans to assume too much like that.'

'Can we please get on with it?' said Rebecca. 'Where to now, Dale?'

'Okay, girls,' said Dale, 'don't get upset, but I really think you should stay out here for now. We don't want Martin finding you. I think the rest of us should go in, figure out our next move and then come out and let you know what's happening.'

'Sounds sensible, mate,' said Monty.

'Well,' said Rebecca, 'since you're all so stupidly small, and since Martin knows us, I guess that _is_ a good plan. But come and tell us as soon as you know what's going on, okay? We can help, you know. I could tear out Martin's throat if I wanted to. Just look at my teeth!'

'Some other time, love,' said Monty, flinching away from Rebecca's open mouth. 'Come on, we'd better get in there. You girls just stay in the shadows, all right?'

'Yeah, sure,' said Rebecca. 'So, Dale, are you showing them where to go or what?'

Dale dropped to all fours and scampered past those who were in front of him, and his four fellow Rescue Rangers immediately began to follow. He led them through a series of rooms filled up with all kinds of junk that mildly interested Gadget, and down into a dimly lit basement where they immediately saw Martin. He was sitting on a collapsible metal chair and fiddling around with a two-way radio. This radio was one of a number of items scattered around an old desk with a crooked leg.

'Golly, is he going to use that thing?' said Gadget. 'What if the police or somebody picked up on his signal?'

'What if they did?' asked Chip. 'Could you fix it for that to happen, Gadget?'

'Maybe,' said Gadget, 'if he'd leave it alone for a while. Dale, where's Goliath?'

'He's behind that thing,' said Dale, pointing to a crumbling old bookcase with several shelves missing. 'It's hiding a door to another room. Some stupid attempt by Martin to cover up in case he's found here, I guess. Goliath was asleep last time I saw him - he must have been tranqued. I'd sure like to find a way in there, though, in case he wakes up and gets scared.'

'Andy!' Martin said suddenly, as his radio began to crackle. The reception was terrible, understandably, as they were underground. 'Where the heck are you? I've got the goods ready to go!'

'I _knew_ he'd be moving him soon,' said Chip. 'This could be a huge problem.'

'We just need to get him out fast,' said Dale. 'It would be nice if we could get Martin arrested, but if all we can do is get Goliath away, that'll be enough.'

'A few _hours_?' said Martin, wide-eyed and dabbing sweat from his brow with the back of his sleeve. 'You expect me to hold it here that long?'

'Oh, good, the getaway vehicle's delayed,' said Gadget.

'Then all we need is for someone to find Martin here with Goliath,' said Chip. 'But how? No one will see any lights on or anything down here in the basement, which is kind of the point, I guess. There's the radio, like we were saying, but he won't use that again if he's smart. Unless he has to.'

'Maybe he _will_ have to,' said Gadget. 'You never know. I'll play around with it just as soon as he's finished.'

'We need a human to find him and call the police,' said Monty. 'Now, couldn't one of those cubs bring somebody here from the park?'

'Better be Jillian,' said Dale. 'I don't know who else would follow them. Okay, so that's a plan. Now, how do we get through that door? Maybe we could break up that bookcase. It looks pretty rotten already.'

'All right, Dale, let's you and me do that,' said Chip. 'Zipper, I want you to distract Martin so Gadget can fiddle with his radio, and Monty, you can tell Ruth and Rebecca that we need them to bring Jillian.'

'Right you are, Chipper,' said Monty, while Zipper buzzed his assent and gave a mid-air salute.

'Just try to hurry it up,' said Martin, who was now sweating profusely and filling the basement with a strong smell of fear. 'And don't call me unless… no, _even if_ it's an emergency, okay? We do not want to be overheard. Out.'

He put down his mouthpiece, then slumped back into the rusty old chair, which groaned under his weight. Chip and Dale were already huddled into a corner of the bookcase, gnawing at the rotten wood, when Zipper began buzzing as loud as he could and Gadget began trying to prise open a panel on the two-way radio with a bulldog clip that happened to be lying around.

'This guy's a jerk,' said Dale. 'Catnapping ligers is bad enough at the best of times, but Goliath's just a baby! What do you suppose Martin's going to do with him?'

'Sell him,' said Chip. 'Monterey said he might want to keep him until he's fully-grown, but that seems risky to me. Still, I suppose it's possible he's some kind of nut who's obsessed with possessing the pelt of all the largest creatures in the world, or something like that. If we pay attention, maybe we'll find out.'

'Maybe,' said Dale. 'Keep at it, Zipper!'

Clearly Zipper was driving Martin to distraction, and he had no idea what to do about it. There were no windows to open, and Zipper refused to be ushered out of the door to the stairwell. Finally Martin picked up a piece of rusty metal piping and began chasing Zipper round the room with it. Inside the two-way radio, Gadget was satisfied that Martin would be kept busy for a while yet.

.-.-.

'Should we both go?' asked Ruth, once Monty had explained the plan to her and Rebecca. 'What if it comes down to… you know… violence?'

'If one of us is staying to fight him,' said Rebecca, 'then obviously it should be me. No offence, Ruthie, but… you know.'

'I know,' said Ruth. 'But I'm not sure I could bring Jillian here on my own if she's determined to put me back in the enclosure.'

'Why don't you both go?' said Monty. 'It won't take you long, and we've been in worse scrapes than this with no big cats to fight for us.'

'All right,' said Rebecca. 'But just be careful, okay? Don't let him take Goliath anywhere, or do anything to him.'

'Not to worry, love,' said Monty. 'Martin's just sitting tight waiting for this vehicle, and the bloke on the radio said he'd be hours yet.'

'All right,' said Ruth. Then she and Rebecca turned and slunk off into the night, while Monty made his way back down into the basement.

.-.-.

Gadget was out of sight, and Zipper was buzzing around Martin's head. When Monty arrived, Martin had just given up the chase and slumped back into his chair. Zipper continued to buzz around, knowing that he was keeping Martin from seeing what was happening to the radio and bookcase, even if he was no longer getting a noticeable reaction.

'Need a hand, mates?' asked Monty, as he joined Chip and Dale on the bookcase.

'How about a set of teeth?' said Dale, rubbing his aching jaw.

'Right-o,' said Monty, and he began to chew. Then, after a few minutes, he stopped and said, 'You know, mates, Martin might start to notice something's up when this thing goes. Ruth said something about us maybe having to fight, and I've just thought - we'll be at quite a disadvantage if he's still got that tranquiliser gun.'

Chip stopped chewing, thought for a moment and then scrabbled up to a high shelf on the bookcase.

'There it is,' he said, after a quick look round, pointing underneath the desk. 'Monty, do you think you could open that thing up and take out the darts?'

'I reckon so,' said Monty. 'And do what with them?'

'Hide them,' said Chip. 'Maybe we'll take them out of here once we're through this thing, but in the meantime - WHOA!'

He felt his balance begin to slip as the bookcase wobbled beneath his feet. Then, just as it was about to collapse he, Dale and Monty all shot from it and bolted across the room. Chip, who was higher than the other two, ended up on top of the two-way radio. Martin leapt to his feet and stared aghast at the tumbling bookcase.

'Hi, Chip,' said Gadget, popping her head out from inside the radio. 'Did you get that bookcase out of the way?'

'Looks like it,' said Chip, watching as Dale rushed back across the room and squeezed under the gap in the bottom of the door. 'How are _you_ doing?'

'Well,' said Gadget, 'I think I'm just about done here. This thing is tuned to a whole bunch of frequencies now. If Martin uses it again, he might be heard by the police or a trucker or a couple of kids playing with their walkie-talkies or something. I just hope they're kids with enough sense to call the police.'

'Kids won't be playing with walkie-talkies at this time of night, Gadget.'

'Oh. No, of course not. Silly me. Still, this is only a backup plan, in case Ruth and Rebecca can't get Jillian here, or Martin sees her and silences her.'

'Silences her?' said Chip. For some reason, he had not considered this. 'How?'

'Well, by tying her up and putting her in that back room,' said Gadget. 'I _would_ say he could easily do that, but I'm sure Ruth and Rebecca can stop him. They really could tear him to pieces, you know, if they wanted to. Mind you, he does have that tranquiliser gun. Oh, never mind. Strike that. I see Monty's taking out all the darts.'

'That's true,' said Chip. 'I think we should go help him move them.'

Dale, meanwhile, had found Goliath awake but groggy, and in the early stages of getting upset. He was lying in a cage that was not quite big enough for him, coming slowly out of a heavy stupor.

'Where am I?' he said drowsily. 'Mom? Mom, where are you?'

'Goliath, it's me, Dale,' said Dale, slipping through the bars of the cage and climbing onto the cub's left forepaw. 'Don't panic, okay? You've been catnapped, but we're here to save you. Jillian's on her way, and if she can't get here, we'll find some other way to get you out. But your sisters are trying to bring her right now.'

'Jillian?' said Goliath. 'Where's my mom?'

'She's back at the park. You'll see her real soon, I promise.'

'Wha… what happened?'

'You were catnapped,' Dale said again. 'Martin tranqued you.'

'Martin? I never liked him. I want my mom. I have to get out of here.'

Before Dale could stop him, Goliath tried to stand up, banged his head hard on the roof of the cage and slumped back down again with a cry of, 'OW!'

'Are you all right?' asked Dale.

'Um… yeah, I think so.'

'Just wait there… I mean… just a sec.' Dale hopped out of the cage, squeezed back under the door and climbed onto a piece of the demolished bookcase. 'Hey, Gadget! Goliath wants to get out. Can you please come pick the lock with your tail?'

'Sure thing, Dale,' said Gadget, and she began to set down the tranquiliser dart she was holding in both arms, but Chip put a restraining hand on her shoulder.

'Hold on a minute,' he said. 'We can't let him out yet. Martin has to be caught with the goods packaged and ready to go.'

'_Goods_?' squeaked Dale. 'Goliath is a child, Chip, and he's locked in a cage he can't even stand up in! Are you going to come in here and tell him what you just told me?'

'Eww, a rat!'

No sooner had he heard these words than Dale found himself being assaulted with Martin's rusty metal pole. He just managed to dodge the blow, and then beat a hasty retreat back into the room where Goliath was being kept. Martin flung the door open and gave chase. With nowhere else to hide, Dale ran back into Goliath's cage and jumped over his body. The bars were enough to shield him, but instinct told him to put as much bulk as possible between himself and his attacker. Only when Goliath began growling deep in his throat, his hackles rising into an almost vertical position, did Dale realise that he had escaped Martin's pole.

'How on earth did that guy get a job in a safari park?' Gadget wondered, as she began carrying her tranquiliser dart towards the stairwell. 'He's scared of big cats, and he doesn't even know the difference between a chipmunk and a rat.'

'You want lunch, Goliath?' said Martin, lowering his pole and sneering down at Dale.

'Get away from me, you jerk!' said Goliath, and he made such a terrifying noise that seemed to come from deep inside his body, that Martin dropped his pole altogether and fled the room.

'Y'know,' said Dale, 'I'm afraid you might kill him if we let you out of here just yet.'

'I might,' said Goliath. 'What else is there to do?'

'Well, if the human police catch him, they'll punish him. I really think that's better than killing him, Goliath.'

'Really? Why?'

'Well…' Dale wondered whether Goliath might not be a little too young, a little too sheltered and a little too feline to get into that debate.

'Will he have to suffer for a long time?'

'Oh, yes, a _long_ time.'

'I knew I didn't want all this hype about being the biggest,' said Goliath. 'That's why Martin wants me, isn't it? Whatever he's planning to do with me, that's the reason.'

'Yeah,' said Dale. 'I guess it is.'

'And you know, it… it scares me too, knowing I'm going to grow so big. I've heard the humans talking about it. They don't seem worried about the girls, but I've heard some of them say that I might _never_ stop growing. I might get so big I can't support my own body weight, and then… I don't _know_ what then!'

'We're all scared of something,' said Dale, unable to think of any words of comfort more specific to Goliath's particular fear. After all, for all anyone knew, these terrible predictions might come true. 'All we can do is try not to worry, and just face these things if they ever actually happen. But maybe they never will. You just have to remember that. I know you'll feel better once you get out of this cage.'

'Yeah, maybe. When is Jillian getting here?'

The wait was longer than anyone had anticipated, as they had all forgotten to take into account the likelihood that Jillian - if she followed the two liger cubs at all - would come on foot, and be as slow about it as any other human. She arrived at last, however, following Rebecca and cradling Ruth in her arms.

'Jillian!' said Chip. 'Excellent! Okay, now she needs to run back up the stairs and call the police. Rebecca, be ready to protect her from Martin.'

'Martin!' said Jillian, staring at the shattered bookcase and the open door behind it. 'What is going on in here?'

'Andy's delayed,' said Martin.

'What do you mean, Andy's delayed?'

'And this rat or something broke the bookcase.'

'What on earth are you talking about? Come on, Rebecca, there's a good girl.'

Rebecca followed Jillian, who still held Ruth in her arms, as she stepped over the pile of wood into Goliath's prison cell. Chip, Gadget, Monty and Zipper were all exchanging wide-eyed, puzzled looks. Ruth and Rebecca were keeping quiet, but both had stiffened and raised their hackles slightly. They seemed uncertain. Chip's mind was racing ahead to what might happen next. With two loose, angry young ligresses and no tranquiliser darts around, it seemed entirely possible that they'd end up with two or three corpses on their hands, be they human, feline or both.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chip and Dale__'__s Rescue Rangers: _**Big Cat Safari**

Part 5

'Jillian!' said Dale, as he and Goliath were joined by Jillian, Ruth and Rebecca. 'What are you doing? Get out of here before Martin incapacitates you!'

'Hey, Goliath,' said Jillian, setting Ruth down gently and crouching to look through the bars of the cage. 'Where did you get that chipmunk, huh? He's not from the park, is he?' She stooped down further and peered at Dale. 'You're not a Siberian chipmunk, are you?'

'No,' said Dale, frowning. 'What's going on here, Jillian?'

'Jillian!' said Goliath. 'Let me out!'

'Oh, it's okay, baby. No one's going to hurt you. Martin!' Jillian rose to her full height, turned sharply away from the ligers and marched back into the adjacent room. 'What is going _on_? Ruth and Rebecca brought me here - they knew you had Goliath.'

'I didn't even know they got out!' said Martin.

'I don't understand,' said Goliath, as Chip, Gadget, Monty and Zipper all came hurtling into the room. 'I just… I don't understand!'

'She's in on it!' said Rebecca. 'She's _actually_ in on it! I'm going to kill her!'

'Rebecca, wait!' said Chip, and fortunately, she did.

'That can't be right,' said Ruth. 'It just… it _can__'__t_! It's Jillian!'

'We have to be sensible about this,' said Chip. 'We still need them to get caught, so you guys have to make Jillian believe you still trust her. She thinks you're too stupid to understand what they're saying, or even to realise you're in the wrong place. She just thinks that if she's here, she can keep you calm and you won't attack her. And that's what you have to do.'

'That and what else, Chipper?' asked Monty. 'We were really relying on Jillian.'

'Well, there's still the radio,' said Chip, sounding far from optimistic about this, 'but that was only ever going to be a bonus if they were stupid enough to use it. And that vehicle's on its way, isn't it? All right, look, I'm going to go out there and listen to what they're saying. Maybe I can pick up something useful, and I'll be trying to think of a plan. You all do the same, okay?'

Zipper, Monty and Gadget all murmured their assent, but the liger cubs were too upset to speak. So, it seemed, was Dale. The disappointment of Jillian's betrayal was crushing, and he could only imagine how it must have felt for the ligers. To him, and to the other rodents, the signals coming from the three hurt and angry cats were almost palpable, but they were beyond feeling frightened of them now.

'What if,' Dale said at last, 'we just let Goliath out and run for it?'

'And kill them?' said Rebecca.

'Well, no…'

'Either these police of yours come and do horrible things to them,' she said, 'or _we_ do horrible things to them.'

Rebecca was lying with her chin on her paws, frowning deeply, her tail rhythmically beating the ground. Ruth was staring wide-eyed at nothing, and Goliath began to show his distress by breaking suddenly into a fit of crying. He made possibly the most peculiar noise that any of the Rangers had ever heard, but it didn't worry them as long as it didn't worry the humans. As Goliath was caged, he was surely entitled to express himself vocally.

Dale looked up at him when he began to cry, then climbed onto his head and began stroking a square inch or so of the fur there. He desperately wished the ligers would see sense, and help him to persuade Chip that they should just make a break for it, but that didn't look like happening any time soon.

.-.-.

In the next room, the humans were oblivious to the animals' degree of distress and understanding. They didn't even know the cats had company, apart from Dale, and they were much too anxious to give him a second thought. Crouching amongst the remains of the bookcase, Chip listened with interest as Martin and Jillian talked.

'Just don't sound too anxious,' said Jillian. 'They can sense it.'

'But I _am _anxious! Are you going to take those other two back to the park?'

'How can I? We can tranq them before we go, and then let them be found here in the morning or something. I was lucky enough to let them bring me here without anyone noticing. I'd never get them back in again.'

'Just say they escaped and you found them. It doesn't have to look suspicious. I mean, everyone must know they're missing by now anyway.'

'They brought me here to help Goliath,' said Jillian. 'They'll stop trusting me if I take them away from him. I'm even wondering whether to let him out - they can't feel comfortable with him caged like that.'

'No way!' said Martin. 'What if he escapes?'

'You have that tranquiliser gun, don't you?'

'Of course.' Martin glanced at where the gun still lay under the desk. 'But now we've got him confined, it would be stupid to let him out. He has to be ready to go the second Andy gets here.'

'Yeah,' said Jillian, 'I guess you're right. Ooh, this is infuriating! I wasn't even supposed to be here tonight.'

'Yeah, right, we couldn't risk _you_ getting caught.'

Jillian frowned. 'That's right. This heist needed me because I'm the only person with enough skill and sense to make the animals trust me, but I've always been clear, I don't get my hands dirty. Someone had to do this part, but it didn't have to be _you_.'

'Yeah, well…'

'Tell me you have to get your son through college and your daughter needs a life-saving operation, and I might start to feel sorry for you.'

Martin said nothing. In the silence that followed, Goliath's crying sounded unnaturally loud. Jillian glanced over her shoulder, clearly wondering again whether to let him out, but she soon decided against it.

'Anyway,' she said, turning back to Martin, 'I'm here now, and I have to stay to protect you from those cubs. When's the truck getting here?'

'All Andy would say was a few hours. That was like, I don't know, an hour ago?'

'Have you been using that radio?'

'Just quickly,' said Martin. 'I had to.'

'Well for goodness' sake, don't use it again!'

'Of course I won't. I'm not stupid.'

Chip decided he had heard enough, and went back to join the others. No one had moved since Dale climbed onto Goliath's head.

'It sounds like they're going to sell you, Goliath,' he said, 'just like I thought. Except they're not, of course, because we're going to save you.'

Rebecca made a derisive noise in her throat. 'Without killing them? How?'

'I don't know,' said Chip. 'We always knew they wouldn't use the radio again, and now they've actually agreed not to. Has anyone been able to think of a plan?'

'All I can think of is fetching someone else from the park,' said Monty.

Rebecca made that sound again, and said, 'Forget it, man. How do we know we can trust _any_ of them now?'

'Besides,' said Ruth, 'we had enough trouble getting Jillian away. It wouldn't work with anybody else. Not even Kevin.'

'Maybe one of us should go back there with like a note or something,' said Dale. 'I mean, how else is anyone going to know? We can't exactly write it up on the roof in lights. "STOLEN LIGER HERE!" ' He lifted his right arm and swept it open-palmed in front of him.

'Well,' said Gadget, her brow furrowing in thought, '_why_ can't we?'

Everyone stared at her. Then Monty said, 'What do you mean, love?'

'We know the place is still wired for electricity, and there's plenty of junk lying around. I'll just bet we could rig up a sign like the one Dale described.'

'Don't be stupid,' said Rebecca. 'How could you ever make it big enough?'

'Maybe we could help,' said Ruth. 'I bet I could get on the roof.'

'So could I,' said Rebecca. 'But it still sounds crazy to me. Anyway, if we try and leave these two rooms, Jillian will want to stop us.'

'There may be the means to write a note around here too, Gadget,' said Chip. 'Dale's original plan might be simpler.'

'Well, let's call that Plan B,' said Gadget. 'I mean, of course the park people would investigate the note if they found it on time, and if they bothered to read something from a mouse or a chipmunk or a fly, but making sure they see a big sign in lights on the roof would be so much easier. We wouldn't even _have_ to make sure!'

'I'm not so sure, love,' said Monty.

'All right, I'll tell you what,' said Chip. 'Monterey, you can look around for a pen and paper, or something small we can use to write a note. Zipper might help you once he's helped the rest of us get onto the roof, and then we can see what we'll be able to do up there. Gadget, if you're happy we can erect your sign, then we will.'

'Okay, that's a plan,' said Dale. 'But before we start, can we please at least unlock this cage? Goliath needs to be able to get away if no one comes in time.'

Goliath lifted his head as far as he could, and said, 'That's right, I do.'

'Well, all right,' said Chip. 'Just so long as you understand why you need to stay in there for as long as you can.'

Gadget at once made her way to the cage and began picking the padlock with her tail.

'They have to catch you like this, Goliath,' said Dale, 'so they know what Martin and Jillian have done, and there won't be any complications about punishing them.'

'Okay, fine,' said Goliath. 'But can Ruth or Rebecca stay with me?'

'Absolutely,' said Dale, before anyone could say that they needed both ligresses to help them construct this sign of Gadget's.

'Better be me who stays,' said Ruth. 'You'll need strength up there.'

'Okay, so we're all agreed,' said Chip. 'Now, let's go. Rescue Rangers, away!'

Gadget joined in with the motivational war cry, pleased as she was with the sign idea, but no one else quite had the heart for it. Dale gave Goliath a reassuring squeeze on the ear, before jumping down and joining the others. Once Gadget had penetrated the cage's padlock, they were ready to go. Rebecca left the room first, charged past Martin and Jillian and knocked Jillian almost off her feet when she tried to stop her.

'Where's she going?' asked Martin.

Jillian followed Rebecca a short way, then came back and said, 'Just upstairs. Anyway, if she goes home, they'll only put her in the enclosure or stick her in with Sherni. And if she starts causing trouble here later, we can deal with her then.'

This lack of opposition was an enormous relief to the Rescue Rangers, and all five of them struck out with renewed hope. Chip and Dale, however, were stopped at the foot of the stairs by Jillian's hands bearing down upon them.

'Chipmunks again,' she said, picking them up. 'Those mice I can understand, but what would these two be doing down here, unless they'd come from the park? Look, this little guy is the one who got into Goliath's cage with him. I'm pretty sure they're American chipmunks, but… I don't know, what do you think?'

Dale found himself bundled into Martin's hands, while Jillian kept Chip and began examining him closely with her eyes and her fingers. For all of her treachery and deceit, she had a gentle and confident touch that kept Chip quiet, and made him believe she'd let him go once she was satisfied he was not a park escapee. Dale, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to get away from Martin's sweating, shaking and squeezing hands, and so he began to scratch and bite at them.

'Ow!' said Martin. 'Ooh, you little…!'

'They tickle, don't they?' said Jillian.

'They _hurt_, Jillian!'

'They're North American chipmunks all right. Whose idea was it to put eastern chipmunks in an American safari park, anyway? They're almost exactly the same as these two, and you can see their kind all over the country.'

'I think Jay said they were a bunch of surplus babies from some English zoo. OW!'

'Don't squeeze him like that, Martin. Give him room to breathe.'

Martin decided to take this advice, and the moment he loosened his hold, Dale leapt from his hand and bolted from the room. Chip, realising he could have escaped Jillian's gentle grip at any time, jumped for it and followed Dale up the stairs.

The two chipmunks did not stop running until they reached the top floor. Then, by silent agreement, they came to a sudden halt at the top of the final flight of stairs.

'It sounds like they moved Sherni,' said Dale.

'That doesn't surprise me at all,' said Chip. 'She must be threatening to tear everyone to pieces by now. Come on, let's find the others.'

Finding them was easy enough, as Rebecca had left behind a series of open doors and a strong smell of cat. On their way, they passed Monterey Jack burrowing around in a heap of corrugated iron sheets.

'Any luck, Monterey?' asked Chip.

'I'm already starting to think this was never the kind of warehouse that stored stationery,' said Monty, 'but I'll keep looking. I don't believe we can really build this sign of Gadget's. Nothing here works, or the humans would have taken it.'

'Not necessarily,' said Chip. 'You know how wasteful they are.'

'Besides,' said Dale, 'Gadget can fix anything.'

The two chipmunks continued on their way, and soon found Rebecca staring fixedly at a thin piece of string weighted with a paperclip that was dangling outside an open window. Gadget was standing on the windowsill, and within moments Zipper flew down into view, manoeuvred around the string and landed by Gadget's right foot.

'That is _so_ cool!' said Rebecca, lifting a paw towards the paperclip.

'Please try not to dislodge it, Rebecca,' said Gadget. 'That'll do for _us_ to get up and down, but what about you? Do you still think you can get up there?'

Rebecca jumped onto the window ledge, making herself as small as she could so as to fit, and twisted her spine to look upwards. Then she said, 'Gadget, _please_.'

'Oh,' said Gadget, noticing Chip and Dale. 'Hi, guys.'

'Hi,' said Chip. 'So what's the situation? What kind of roof is it?'

'I'll just go see,' see Gadget, and she grabbed onto the string and began to climb. A moment later, she was back.

'Wouldn't it be great if it was a flat roof?' she said. 'But it's not. Still, it isn't too much of a slope, with this building being so large. I thought if we could find a weak spot and make a hole, we could get a cable down into this room. See, there are power outlets everywhere. Then we could construct the sign on one of the slopes - they're shallow enough for that - and then if we could find some rope, we could tie Rebecca to the sign and she could erect it for us. Will that be all right, Rebecca?'

'If we can get that far,' said Rebecca. 'It still sounds pretty crazy to me, but I'll do what I can.'

'Good,' said Gadget. 'It may be a big job, but it's so much more definite than trying to give somebody a note. Now. Of course the humans who ran this place didn't leave any boxed light bulbs, or not that I noticed anyway, but that's okay because there are still bulbs in most of the ceiling lights, and I'll just bet a lot of them still have some juice. There are so many rooms here - who could be bothered to go around testing all the light bulbs and taking any with an indefinite amount of life left in them?'

'Us?' Dale said dryly.

'Exactly right, Dale,' said Gadget. 'So Zipper, that means you won't be able to help Monterey look for pencils, I'm afraid. In fact, we could really use him too, to hold the corner of a piece of cloth - if we can find one - and we can hold the other three corners. Then Zipper can unscrew the light bulbs, and we can catch them.'

'Couldn't I hold a corner?' asked Rebecca.

'I don't know,' said Gadget. 'I just thought you might be a little too big.'

'Why doesn't Rebecca look for pencils and stuff?' asked Dale. 'Then Monty can help us to catch light bulbs.'

'Perfect!' said Gadget. 'Okay, let's go find him and get started. It's going to take us a very long time to do this, you know.'

'Which is why I've just thought of another backup plan,' said Chip. 'If their vehicle arrives, Gadget, I want you to get down there and sabotage it.'

'Golly,' said Gadget, 'that seems very simple after everything else we've been doing here tonight. Still, simple is often effective.'


	6. Chapter 6

_Chip and Dale__'__s Rescue Rangers: _**Big Cat Safari**

Part 6

Rebecca took over Monty's work, and then the five Rescue Rangers set about roaming the building and collecting light bulbs, in exactly the way that Gadget had described. There were plenty of dust sheets around the place, and the four rodents had no trouble in tearing away an appropriately sized scrap of cloth with their teeth. Zipper switched on each light to test it before he began to unscrew it, and they found that almost every bulb in the building still had some life left in it.

As everyone had anticipated, the work was long and tedious, and they soon encountered the question of how, when and in what quantity to transport the light bulbs upstairs. Eventually they set up a system of dismantling more dust sheets and making a big bundle of bulbs at the top of each stairwell, with the understanding that they would ask Rebecca to carry them to the top floor.

It was Monty who was eventually sent to fetch Rebecca with the light bulbs, as he was the strongest and could help her if necessary. He also had instructions to find as much wire of any kind - copper and chicken being preferred - that he could find. Meanwhile Chip, Dale, Gadget and Zipper made their way onto the roof. Zipper began looking for a weak spot in the tiling, while the three rodents all ran up the shallow slope to the roof's apex to take a look around.

'Now,' said Gadget, 'did we set up our string on the right side? We'd better decide quickly, so we don't let Monty and Rebecca put our stuff by the wrong window.'

'No, this is right,' said Dale. 'Look, if we're building it on this side, we'll be facing the road so we can keep an eye out for this vehicle of theirs.'

'Good thinking, Dale,' said Chip, with only a slight note of surprise. 'It also means we won't have to build the sign back to front. When Rebecca pulls it up from the other side, it'll be facing the park, where we know someone will see it _and_ care. They'll still be there looking, won't they?'

'The lights are still on,' said Dale. 'There'll be people there all night.'

Just then Zipper flew over to them buzzing something excitedly, and he showed Gadget an area of crumbling tiles and rotting rafters.

'Oh, Zipper, that's perfect!' said Gadget. 'I can actually see into the eaves from here, and then I can _almost_ see our room through the plaster. I thought I'd need Monty for this, but I believe I can get through that myself. Okay, guys, I'm going to bite a hole in the ceiling and then I'm going to go down and set up the wiring. If you just do the cosmetic stuff, I'll come up when I can and start wiring the bulbs together. After all, that's the easy part. You guys get the hard job.'

'Right,' said Dale. 'It's not going to be easy spelling something out in light bulbs and making it a hundred times the size of us.'

'Don't you think this is going to work, Dale?' asked Chip.

'I think it _can_ work,' said Dale. 'It's just a long plan, that's all. We're lucky their vehicle is so delayed. We mustn't forget to keep an eye out for it.'

As it turned out, constructing the sign was just about the easiest part of the whole endeavour. It was a little awkward at first, as they had to work in the dark with several dozen items larger than themselves, but Chip, Dale and Zipper soon got into a rhythm while Rebecca and Monty passed up copious amounts of light bulbs, wire mesh, chicken wire and little nozzles filled with industrial strength glue.

'Rebecca,' Chip said, after a few minutes' work. 'Have you abandoned your search for stationery?'

'Yes,' said Rebecca. 'I wasn't getting even a sniff of anything like you wanted, and anyway, we're doing this now.'

'How's Gadget doing?' asked Dale.

Monty leaned into the room to reiterate this question to Gadget. Then, moments later, he popped his head back out of the window and said, 'She says she's set up the wiring, and now she's wants to take Rebecca to look for rope.'

'See you soon, guys,' said Rebecca, before slinking off.

'We were bound to forget something,' said Dale. 'Hey, can we just make this thing say "LIGER HERE"? We don't have to specify that he was stolen.'

'You're right, Dale,' said Chip. 'And we should leave out "HERE" as well. We want to get this done as quickly as possible.'

They worked in silence for several more minutes. Then suddenly Chip said, 'You know, I'm very sorry about Jillian. Apart from what she's doing to Goliath, she really seems to like animals, or at least respect them. She even bothered sexing you, Dale.'

'Did she now?' said Monty. 'Y'know, some humans don't even bother doing that with their own pets. That certainly is something, mate.'

'She was probably only having a guess,' said Dale.

'I don't think so,' said Chip. 'I think she -'

'Can we maybe not talk about it, please?' Dale said, frowning. 'Anyway, none of that stuff matters after what she's done tonight. In fact, it makes it worse. She made those cats trust her, and then she betrayed them. Not just Goliath - _all_ of them! Those two girls, and Sherni and Simba, and everyone else.'

'I think we all feel that way, pally,' said Monty. 'Now we just have to do everything we can to sort it out. Good thing we were at the park, Chipper.'

'Yeah, Chip,' said Dale. 'Good call.'

Gadget and Rebecca soon returned with a sturdy length of rope, and Gadget made her way onto the roof to wire up each light bulb to the mains.

'Too bad we can't see the whole thing while we work on it,' she said. 'It would be handy to have a camera and a monitor so we can look at what we're doing.'

'Never mind, Gadget,' said Chip. 'We're lucky we found everything we need to make this work at all.'

'I'm just finishing up the G,' said Dale. 'We're making really good progress here. Just "LIGER" does seem a little vague, though. Maybe we could put in an arrow.'

'An arrow?' said Chip.

'Yeah, pointing down to the warehouse.'

'Well, that would certainly make our meaning clear,' said Gadget.

'I just hope we can finish before sunup,' said Chip. 'I don't think they'll see it from the park in daylight. Rebecca, you're local. Can you tell how long until morning?'

'Enough time to finish that, at the rate you're going,' said Rebecca, who had no concept of minutes and hours, but she did know exactly when to expect the sunrise. 'I wonder how Goliath's doing.'

'_I_ wonder how this Andy character is doing getting his vehicle here,' said Chip. 'I hope he got pulled over or something.'

'Golly, you're not going to be much longer doing that, are you?' said Gadget to Chip, Dale and Zipper, noticing suddenly how much progress they had made. 'Maybe I should get Rebecca tied onto it now.'

'I'll do that, Gadget, love,' said Monty. 'Look, if we put these last few bulbs and bits of wire in the guttering, the boys can help themselves to what they need.'

'Last few?' said Dale. 'It won't be a very big arrow, then.'

'Never mind,' said Chip. 'Are you ready to come up now, Rebecca?'

'You bet your chipmunk hiney I am,' said Rebecca, and with that she jumped up onto the windowsill, found the one place from which she could reach the roof without toppling over backwards, and launched herself upwards. After an awkward landing, she scrabbled around and scraped at the tiles with her claws out until she felt stable.

'Oh, wow,' she said, turning awkwardly to look out in the direction of the road and all that lay beyond. 'Just look at the view from up here. You can see the whole world!'

'Maybe _you_ can,' said Chip. He could see well enough to work on the sign, but just then he'd have paid dearly for eyesight like Rebecca's.

'It's so beautiful!' she went on, while she waited for Monty and Zipper to transfer their remaining materials to the guttering. 'I could run away tonight, couldn't I? I mean, I won't… it'd be a stupid idea… but anyway, I could.'

'Aren't you happy in the park?' asked Dale.

'Oh, I'm all right. But I think every animal would rather know they can leave their home any time they want to. That can never be me, though. No liger could live in the wild. But I mustn't complain. I know I was lucky to be born even halfway healthy.'

'Complain all you want,' said Dale. 'It's tough on all three of you - I can see that.'

'Dale,' hissed Chip, next to Dale's ear. 'We don't have time for this right now. Rebecca,' he said, at normal volume, 'it looks like Monterey's ready.'

'Oh,' said Rebecca, watching as Zipper flew towards her carrying one end of the length of rope she had brought earlier. 'Okay. So, where do I need to stand?'

'On the apex, love,' said Monty, 'if you can.'

'Of course I can. Ever hear the phrase, "sure-footed as a cat"? Someone didn't just make that up, you know.'

'Hey, we're almost there!' Dale said excitedly, as Rebecca made her way up the sloping roof. 'Look, it says "LIGER"! Um… I hope. Just the arrow to go now.'

He and Chip constructed a comparatively small, downwards arrow at the end of the word, while Gadget finished wiring everything up, and Monty and Zipper harnessed Rebecca with the rope and tied her to the sign. Within minutes, things were ready to go, and there was no sign either of Andy's vehicle or the rising sun.

'All right!' said Gadget, who was feeling more optimistic than ever about the whole thing. 'I'll go down and be ready to flick the switch. Just let me know when.'

Rebecca stepped over the apex of the roof and felt herself begin to slide. Her claws came out once again. Then she felt the weight of the sign pulling her back, and this served to steady her. Chip, Dale and Zipper, who collectively felt as though they had been through something very special in constructing the thing, all moved a little closer together and stared upwards as the sign grew increasingly taller. Everyone was afraid of something going wrong, and for both Chip and Dale, it was something specific. They had gone to great pains to build a solid foundation for the sign, without Gadget's expertise to guide them, that would keep it from toppling. This seemed the most likely thing to fail, and if it did, the outcome would be an earth-shattering noise that would bring no one rushing to the scene but Martin and Jillian. But at last, after what seemed like an age, the sign was standing, perpendicular and proud.

When everything was in position, Monty called down towards the open window, 'Ready, Gadget, love!'

A moment later there was an explosion of light. Everyone on the roof had been unable to keep from looking at the sign, so of course they all found themselves momentarily blinded. They all closed their eyes and turned away, and then when they came back to their senses, the four boys whooped and cheered and hugged and shook each other's hands. Then Dale remembered Rebecca, and ran over to the other side of the roof to chew through her bonds.

'Does it work?' asked Gadget, appearing on the windowsill.

'It does!' said Chip. 'It actually does! I never thought it would! Oh, Gadget, it's _incredible_! We've never done anything like it before!'

Moments later Dale and Rebecca both came scrambling over the apex, swallowed up by the light from the sign, and scrabbled down the tiles towards the others.

'Unless everyone over in that park is blind,' said Monty, 'they'll have seen it already. Now all we have to do is wait.'

'We'd better get back downstairs,' said Chip. 'This vehicle could arrive at -'

'CHIP!'

'Dale?' Chip pricked up his ears and looked around him. 'Where are you?'

'I fell off the roof!'

'Oh, for…' Chip ran along the roof edge until he found Dale hanging from the guttering by one hand.

'All right,' said Chip, grabbing his wrist, 'I've got you.'

'Chip!' Dale said, still hanging in the air, and pointing with his free arm.

'Dale, will you _please _let me pull you up?'

'Truck! There's a truck coming!'

Chip gasped. 'Oh my gosh!' He pulled Dale up with impressive speed, then dropped him on his behind in the gutter. 'Looks like the others have gone in. Gadget knows what to do, but maybe she doesn't realise the truck's here. Is it definitely theirs?'

'It's pulling into the parking lot,' said Dale.

'Okay, I'll go and tell Gadget. See you downstairs.'

He climbed down the string and in through the window, and Dale at once made to follow him. He was stopped, however, by a piteous yowl from Rebecca.

'What's wrong, Rebecca?' he asked.

'I'm stuck!' wailed Rebecca.

'You're _what_?'

'I can't get down! It's too high! Help! Jillian!'

'Sssssh!' hissed Dale, leaping onto Rebecca's muzzle and trying to clamp his tiny hand over her mouth. 'Jillian's one of the bad guys, remember? Will you please stop yowling? You'll bring them both out here and they'll see the sign!'

'They'll see the sign anyway,' said Rebecca. She and Dale now had a clear view of a man, presumably Andy, getting out of the truck and gesturing frantically at the roof.

'Maybe not,' said Dale, unable to suppress a smile, as Andy leapt back into his truck and went screeching off into the night. 'I wonder if he could actually read the word from back there. Probably not, I guess, but at least all that light scared him off. Too bad they won't catch him now, but -'

'I'm stuck, I'm stuck, I'm _stuck_!' wailed Rebecca.

'Oh, please be quiet! They'll hear you!'

'But how will I get down? I need a human!'


	7. Chapter 7

_Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers: _**Big Cat Safari**

Part 7

'There's humans on their way,' said Dale. 'Good ones. They'll get you down with a ladder or something. But you don't want Martin and Jillian out here. If they see our sign… Oh my gosh! They'll go driving off in Martin's car, won't they? I can't believe we didn't think of that!'

'Well,' said Rebecca, 'I guess that wouldn't be the end of the world. They're not stupid enough to drive around with Goliath on the backseat in daylight, and even if they are, someone will notice. Either way, we've still got him back.'

'That's true,' said Dale, thinking it best not to point out that he had wanted to take Goliath and run in the first place. 'Look, Rebecca, are you _sure_ you can't jump back down onto the windowsill?'

'What, are you crazy? I'd break my neck!'

'You managed to get up here all right!'

'Getting up was easy. Now I'm stuck. Dale… is someone definitely coming to help?'

'Absolutely. Didn't you see the sign?'

'Will you wait with me?' asked Rebecca. 'If you don't, I'll start yowling again.'

'Well,' said Dale, 'we don't want that. Of course I'll wait with you.'

He moved up to sit on the top of Rebecca's head, and he kept his eyes on the road. After a minute or so, Chip reappeared on the roof to make sure neither he nor Rebecca had fallen to their deaths. When he found them both alive and well, he seemed rather annoyed.

'What's going on?' he demanded.

'Rebecca's stuck,' said Dale. 'I'm waiting with her until help comes.'

'She's _stuck_?'

'Yeah. It's no big deal. Did you know Andy drove off when he saw the sign?'

'Oh, is _that_ what happened?' said Chip. 'We did wonder. We were hoping Martin and Jillian might use the radio to contact him, but they're not touching it.'

'Good,' said Dale. 'After all that work, our sign had better be what brings the cops. Chip, I think Gadget should sabotage Martin's car. You know, in case Martin and Jillian decide to bail out like Andy did.'

'Oh, good idea,' said Chip. 'So… I guess we'll see you later, then.'

'Sure,' said Dale, turning his attention back to the road. 'Bye!'

There was no traffic at all, and he began to wonder if anyone had driven that way all night apart from Andy in his truck. Then he remembered Monty's idea of the safari park expanding into the area some time in the future, and thought it a good one. No one would miss the warehouse, or a little used stretch of road - apart from the odd criminal, perhaps. Dale was struck by how peaceful it was, sitting up there with the breeze on his face, while below him Rebecca was clearly getting more agitated.

'How are you doing, Becs?' he asked.

'All right,' said Rebecca. 'If you're sure someone's coming.'

'Sure I'm sure,' said Dale. Then something caught his eye, and he jumped to his feet shouting, 'Oh, oh, _oh_! Oh good! Oh yes! Cops!'

He slid down onto Rebecca's muzzle and pointed out along the road to where a small cluster of blue and yellow lights was heading towards the building. The cars' sirens were flashing, but not wailing, much to Dale's relief. With any luck, Martin and Jillian would not know of their approach until it was too late.

.-.-.

It took Gadget less than a minute to find a way into Martin's engine and damage it beyond easy repair. Chip waited for her on the roof of the car, while Monty and Zipper stayed in the basement with Goliath and Ruth. Monty told the two cubs all about the sign, and they seemed both eager to see it and reluctant to believe it.

They were soon joined by Chip and Gadget. Gadget walked straight past Martin and Jillian into the next room, while Chip hung back to listen to whatever else the two crooks had to say. They were silent for a long time, both of them sweating and creating a very tense atmosphere, even Jillian. Finally, when Chip had gone through to the next room, Jillian said, 'You know, Martin, we're going to _have_ to call Andy.'

'Something's obviously happened to him,' said Martin. 'We should just bail out.'

Chip appeared in the doorway and clambered over the shattered bookcase to listen.

'Bail out?' said Jillian. 'Are you _crazy_? What about the money?'

'What about it? It'll be morning soon. Something's gone wrong, and if we stick around here any longer, we'll be found. We'd better just cut our losses and leave the cubs here until someone finds them. They're bound to look here when they expand the search, and that'll be today. They'll have to cancel the opening, won't they? I didn't think of that.'

'It doesn't matter,' said Jillian. 'Neither one of us can ever go back there now anyway. The cats never liked you in the first place, and Sherni will know I did something with the cubs, even if the lions still trust me.'

'What do you mean, Sherni will know?' said Martin. '_How_ will she know?'

'Because she's their mother. Mothers know. That's just the trouble with you, Martin - you never give animals enough credit.'

'I thought my trouble was that I didn't know how to handle them.'

'It's all the same thing. You don't stop to think that they have feelings… that they _know_ things. If you're scared, they know. If you're squeezing them too hard, they know. If you abduct a mother's young, _she knows_. Well… I guess I could _try_ and go back there. Maybe if I bring the cubs back myself and make out like I found them…'

'Do what you want,' said Martin, 'but I'm leaving. Now. There's a place for you in the car if you want it.'

Jillian clearly didn't know what to do. She picked up the keys to Goliath's cage from the desk, but didn't venture into the next room. She stared after Martin, but did not follow him. As it turned out, he didn't get very far. Two police officers and a man in a khaki shirt and safari shorts met him on the stairs.

'I'll have to ask you to stop there, sir,' one of the police officers, a man, said.

'The cops are here!' cried Chip. 'Thank goodness!'

'Kevin's here too!' said Ruth, and she ran to meet him.

'Oh boy, Kevin!' said Goliath, and he began pushing at the door of his cage.

'Hold on there, mate,' said Monty. 'The coppers have to see you in the cage, don't forget.'

'O-oh!' said Goliath, fidgeting with impatience. 'Does it really matter? I'm so cramped in here!'

'It's all right, Goliath,' said Gadget. 'Here they come.'

Kevin came in ahead of the female police officer, cradling Ruth in his arms, just as Jillian had done earlier. Chip ran past the humans' feet to watch as the male police officer placed handcuffs on Martin and Jillian. Jillian looked like she had been slapped, and Martin was shooting her looks loaded with venom.

'Hey there, buddy,' said Kevin, crouching down in front of Goliath's cage. 'What happened here, huh? How did Rebecca get up on the roof? Excuse me, could we find the -? Oh. It looks like the padlock's open.'

'Let me out, Kevin!' said Goliath. 'Let me out, let me out, let me out!'

Kevin put Ruth down and pulled the cage door open, then was knocked to the floor as Goliath leapt into his arms.

'Can we go home now, Kevin?' he said. 'Can we? Huh? Can we?'

'Hold on there, buddy,' said Kevin, rubbing Goliath's head and laughing indulgently. 'We have to get your sister down from the roof first. You know, it _almost_ looks like she erected that sign.'

'I guess she couldn't have,' said the female police officer, 'but I'd sure like to know who in the world _did_.'

.-.-.

Goliath and Ruth were taken outside and put into a transportation vehicle, in which another park official was waiting. The cubs seemed to know her, and were happy to sit with her in the back of the vehicle, where they all stared up at the LIGER sign through the open rear doors. Everyone stood around for a long time, while Rebecca paced up and down the length of the roof yowling 'Kevin!' and 'Christie!' This, presumably, was the name of the woman in the vehicle. Chip, Monty, Zipper and Gadget stood nearby, straining to see the sign from the ground, but all they could see from their height was a gentle glow that was already being swallowed by the sunrise.

'Why aren't they doing anything, Dale?' asked Rebecca.

'They'll need special equipment,' said Dale. 'I'm sure it'll be here soon.'

'And then they'll take us home?'

'Yes. Then they'll take you home.'

After what seemed like a very long wait, a cherry picker arrived to transport Kevin and a fireman up to the roof. Kevin, after much coaxing and petting and gentle pulling, was able to persuade Rebecca to get in with them. Then Dale jumped aboard too, and stood on the edge of the contraption to enjoy the ride.

'Hey!' said the fireman. 'There's a squirrel on here!'

'Chipmunk,' Kevin and Dale said, in perfect unison, though Kevin was much more patient about it. He went on, 'I guess he was on the roof too. Weird. Hey, you're not from the park, are you?'

'No, I am _not_ from the park,' Dale said adamantly. 'Well, not _your_ park, anyhow.'

'It's creepy the way it's chattering at you like that,' said the fireman.

'_He_,' said Kevin, 'is just being friendly. Aren't you, little guy?'

This time Dale didn't answer. He jumped off the cherry picker when it was two feet from the ground, and ran to join his friends.

'Well,' said Chip, 'that's another case wrapped up. I guess we might as well hitch a ride back to the park in this van thing.'

While Kevin and Christie were settling the cubs into the vehicle, the five Rescue Rangers boarded unseen, and made themselves comfortable under Christie's seat. It took only a few minutes to reach the park, whereupon the party was met by several more humans, and a lot of chatter ensued. It seemed the park would open that day after all, and the incident kept quiet, but still someone would have to be made culpable for the hole in the big cats' fence. It all sounded very unpleasant, but the Rescue Rangers knew there was nothing they could do about human bureaucracy - at least this time - so they followed the three liger cubs as they were taken by officials to a portable cage just large enough to house a tiger comfortably for a night or so. This was a straightforward enough judgement for the Rangers to make, as they could see Sherni sleeping soundly within it.

'I bet she had to be tranqued,' said Goliath.

'I'm sure of it,' said Monty. 'She was worried to death about you, and when she realised your sisters had gone too… I shudder to think!'

Goliath, Rebecca and Ruth were each given a push towards their mother, and it was all they needed. They walked happily into the cage, snuggled up beside Sherni and yawned. The Rangers followed them to the cage and looked at them through the bars.

'Thanks, you guys,' Goliath said sleepily, letting out another yawn. 'I really… you saved… it…'

'Yeah, thanks,' Ruth murmured, settling down and closing her eyes. 'We really do… we're just…'

Rebecca was already sound asleep, having had the most active night of the three, and her brother and sister weren't far behind. The Rescue Rangers all took one last look at them, and then turned to leave, but Dale hung back a little longer than the others. He imagined Sherni's joy at finding her cubs when she woke, and he couldn't help smiling. After all, he supposed, it didn't really matter what Jillian had done. She was only a human, after all. The important thing was that the cats had each other.

.-.-.

'Hey!' said Dale, running to catch up with his friends. 'Sherni was about to fight Simba when we left, wasn't she? I wonder if he's all right.'

Everyone else found themselves wondering the same thing, so they found their way to the big cat enclosure (for the time being a pure and simple lion enclosure) and soon saw Nala licking away at one of several flesh wounds on Simba's body.

'He looks _really_ mad,' said Dale.

'Poor bloke feels emasculated,' said Monty.

'No wonder,' said Chip. 'I didn't see a scratch on Sherni.'

'Well,' said Gadget, 'that's too bad. In a fight between a lion and a tiger, I'd always bet on the tiger. Especially if she's worried about her babies.'

With nothing left to do for the cats, they made their way back to the Ranger Plane. This time as they walked under the picnic tables, humans were wandering around with Styrofoam cups and jumbrellas and things of that nature.

'Hey, look!' said Dale. 'Our souvenirs are still here. You still want this giraffe eraser, Chipper?' He picked the item up in both hands.

'I don't know,' said Chip. 'After all that, I think I _do_ prefer your liger keychain.'

'Why don't you get yourself one, Chip?' said Monty. 'I think we should go back to that vending machine - we haven't eaten since yesterday.'

'Hey, that's right!' said Dale. 'I'm starving! Chip, let's get _two_ more keychains. And a lion and a tiger in the next few sizes up. We could make a little liger family.'

'They wouldn't fit in the Ranger Plane,' said Chip.

'So? We could dangle them off the bottom.'

'Oh, who can be bothered to rig that up?'

'Are you _kidding_? We made a ten-foot sign last night!'

'Exactly. I'm exhausted.'

'Well, _I__'__m_ hungry,' Monty cut in, 'and I could just do with some more of those cheese snacks. Shall we go?'

Zipper forged ahead of the others, heading for the gift shop and café that a small group of humans was frantically trying to get ready in the few minutes before the park opened. Chip, Dale, Gadget and Zipper all followed, but Chip and Dale did not stop arguing about souvenirs.

'If we're setting up ropes and stuff,' said Dale, 'can I have one of those really _big_ tigers the size of Rebecca?'

'Where would you put it?'

'Well… how about the next size down?'

'No!'

'Anyway, Dale,' said Gadget, 'don't you think the humans might notice if we took something that size?'

'Humans?' said Dale. 'No way, Gadget. They don't notice anything. Do you think they noticed who put up that sign?'

Back at the warehouse, the humans left behind were wondering how to go about taking the sign down again, and whether they should even bother.

THE END


End file.
